


cooking by the book

by galaxyeyedrops, pipecleanerFlowers



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Community Service, M/M, Soup Kitchens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-22
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 05:25:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3798391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyeyedrops/pseuds/galaxyeyedrops, https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipecleanerFlowers/pseuds/pipecleanerFlowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Despite the fact Vector left the "slaughtering millions" life behind him, if he ever found out who explained the idea of community service to Yuma, he'd probably add one more life to the list.</p>
            </blockquote>





	cooking by the book

**Author's Note:**

> ahhh finally, I have made my debut into writing for this wonderfully fucked up ship <3  
> ~piper
> 
> I'm hungry now  
> ~ibg

Vector decides he hates carrots. This happens exactly twenty minutes into being dragged into this weird “free food” kitchen thing that Yuma insisted they do together. Which was, simply put, the stupidest idea Vector’s ever heard.

(Which, given his centuries of listening to other stupid people, was really saying something.)

“How’s the cooking coming along?” the head of the kitchen asks, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder. Vector bristles, stares at the pile of chopped vegetables, and looks back up at the boss.

“It’s going,” he says, and Yuma smiles beside him.

Weirdo.

“Almost done!” Yuma chimes in, and the boss nods his head, smiles, and walks off to observe the rest of the stations.

He places the cutting board by the edge of the pot and Yuma turns to analyze his work.

“These are pretty good!” He beams, holding up a lettuce slice up to the light, eyeing its crisp texture.

“Of course,” Vector says, smoothly sliding the rest of the ingredients in with a knife. “I’ve got plenty experience chopping things up.”

The joke goes over Yuma’s head. Pity. Vector had thought that was a particularly good one too. Oh well.

He tosses the knife and other utensils into the sink, pushing Yuma to the side and stirring the pot as needed. At least the work isn’t too hard or intensive, he muses as Yuma starts washing the dishes.

The kitchen soon smells delicious and Yuma says so, sitting atop the counter he’d just finished wiping clean.

“Can I try it?” he asks excitedly.

Vector’s about to say _“only if I get to taste you too,”_ but someone else speaks up first.

“Oh, are we taste-testing now?” the boss asks, doors to the kitchen swinging open as he walks in. “Is it all ready?”

“Sure is.”

The man leans over, breathing in the aroma, filling up a bowl with their broth to test.

He makes a face a long moment after the first and only sip, lips turning down, and Vector grabs the ladle out of his hands to taste it himself.

He pours out a decent amount into a clean dish, blowing on it multiple times to cool it down, then takes a sip, carefully swishes it around in his mouth.

It’s bland.

Vector remembers drinking this soup before at Yuma’s place, his grandmother urging them to take seconds. He remembers the tang of the soy sauce blending into fresh vegetables, remembers Alit following her advice too well, going on to thirds and fourths.

And this… this was not that.

“Yuma,” he says, voice sharp. “Are you sure this is the same recipe?”

“Yeah,” Yuma nods, grabbing the recipe sheet off the opposite counter, waving it in front of Vector’s face. “I copied it down exactly.”

Vector’s eyes scan the ingredients list, flinching when the boss takes it from Yuma’s hands to do the same.

He makes vague agreeing sounds as he reads through it once, then twice, only granting them words after a minute or so.

“The recipe looks fine to me,” he says. “The problem is in its execution,” he adds, glancing toward Vector with a raised eyebrow. “Didn’t you say you could cook?”

Vector shrugs. “I’ve never tried soups before.”

“Anyways,” the boss sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We don’t have enough time to prepare another batch.”

He snaps his fingers and four other recruits, around their age, run over with oven mitts.

“They’ll take care of the rest. You two can leave if you want.”

That’s the best idea Vector’s heard all day and he’s already pulling the hairnet off and untying his apron. He’s heading to the back entrance when he feels an arm, Yuma’s, intertwine with his own.

“For the record, I didn’t think it was that bad!” he says, squeezing his arm.

“Thanks?”

“No really!” Yuma pouts.

“Whatever,” Vector says. “I did what you wanted, and you heard the guy, right? He says we’re done.”

“Not yet, we’ve got one more thing!” And with surprising strength, Yuma drags him into the makeshift dining area the other volunteers have set up.

There are a few people there already, more coming in by the minute, already starting to form lines.

Yuma stops at a point off to the side of the serving area, behind the main counters where Vector can thankfully ignore everyone.

“Let’s just stay here for a sec, okay?”

‘A sec’ ends up dragging into the better part of an hour. It had taken them several agonizing minutes to just set up, even more to make sure that the announcement that they’d be serving soon was heard. People mill by, breaking off into conversations (a lady nearby excitedly going on about the office job that she’d gotten a callback from) but Yuma’s grip on his arm is as tight as ever. It’s only when Vector’s on the verge of nodding off that Yuma pinches him.

“Hey, we have company!” he whispers loudly, pointing to a little girl walking towards them.

She’s seven or eight at most, fingers tugging on the edges of her dress. It’s a bit too small, bunching tightly on her shoulders, and what was once sunshine yellow fades into the crease lines.

Her smile, though, is more than bright enough to make up the difference.

(Once, Vector thinks vaguely, he would have looked at that blinding grin and not hesitated in running her through.)

But now, _now_ he’s frozen, more or less, can only stare as she speaks.

“The Mister over there,” she says, pointing at the boss standing a few feet away. “He said you guys cooked for us today?”

Yuma bends down so that he’s at eye level. “Mhmm,” he confirms then points a thumb at Vector. “Though this guy did most of the work.”

“Really?” She asks, her voice going up an octave. Vector can only nod.

“It was really yummy! Mom used to make stuff like this all the time!”

Yuma looks at him, expectant, and Vector frowns. “I’m guessing she was pretty good,” he says, and this is weird. Really weird.

“The best!” she exclaims. “Thank you!”

Okay. That’s… new. When was the last time those two words were directed straight at him?

“You’re… welcome,” he says slowly. Yuma’s grinning brightly at his side.

With one last smile and a wave that moves her whole tiny arm, she leaves as quickly as she came, and Yuma elbows him in the ribs. “Not so bad, huh?”

And Vector looks, lets himself see what Yuma sees, the smiles, the people lining up for seconds, wholeheartedly enjoying what Vector deemed a failure.

“Yeah,” he says, voice soft. “I guess it wasn’t.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> comments are much appreciated <3 we hope you enjoyed~!


End file.
